Hugh II was the Count of Empúries from 1078 until his death. He was the eldest son of Ponç I and Adelaida de Besalú, and succeeded his father in Empúries while his brother, Berenguer, was given the Viscounty of Peralada.

In politics he was on good terms with the other Catalan princes

Catalan counties

The Catalan counties were the administrative divisions of the eastern Carolingian Marca Hispanica created after its Frankish conquest. The various counties roughly defined what came to be known as the Principality of Catalonia....

. In 1085, he made an alliance of mutual self-defence with his neighbour, Giselbert II of Roussillon

Giselbert II of Roussillon

Giselbert II was the count of Roussillon from the death of his father, Gausfred II, in 1074 until his own death. His mother was Adelaide.In 1040, he participated in his father's sack of Ampurias...

. In 1113–15, he and Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona

Ramon Berenguer III the Great was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1082 , Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and Provence, in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, all until his death in Barcelona in 1131...

, took part in an expedition against the Balearics

1113–1115 Balearic Islands expedition

In 1114, an expedition to the Balearic Islands, then a Muslim taifa, was launched in the form of a Crusade. Founded on a treaty of 1113 between the Republic of Pisa and Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, the expedition had the support of Pope Paschal II and the participation of many lords of...

. He was described by the anonymous author of the Liber maiolichinus as Catalanicus heros (a Catalan hero).

Hugh was involved in several disputes with the diocese of Girona, first with its canons and then with its bishop, Berenguer Guifré, over the tithes collected by the parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of Santa Maria de Castelló

Castelló

Castelló is the Catalan name corresponding to Spanish Castellón. As such, it may refer to either of:*Castellón *Castellón de la Plana...

. He made donations to the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes

Sant Pere de Rodes

Sant Pere de Rodes is a former Benedictine monastery in the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the North East of Catalonia, Spain.-Location:It is in the municipal area of El Port de la Selva in the province of Girona, Spain. It has been constructed in the side of the Verdera mountain below the ruins of...

 and made pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...

 and the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.

Hugh was married to Sancha, daughter of Ermengol IV of Urgell

Ermengol IV of Urgell

Ermengol IV , called el de Gerb or Gerp, was the Count of Urgell from 1066 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol III and Clemencia, daughter of Bernard II of Bigorre....

, which whom he had one child, the heir Ponç II.